


How Would You Feel?

by M_Renoir



Series: The Rogue and the Paladin: A Collection of Stories [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Fluff, M/M, Songfic, Zombies, ed sheeran is my Will voice claim, fun fact
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 09:36:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17322515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M_Renoir/pseuds/M_Renoir
Summary: Will somehow manages to find a guitar and serenades René with it. René, however, doesn't want anything to do with the impromptu concert.





	How Would You Feel?

**Author's Note:**

> A songfic wow uhhhh yes another one from the 2016 era. There's some backstory to it, but these can honestly be read in any order. I /think/ there's another one with how they met? But it's not like a spoiler or anything, these are just vignettes into their lives in a post-apocalyptic world.

    The sound of a guitar echoed through the cooling evening air. The sun had already set behind the smoggy horizon, and the sky was slowly transitioning from resplendent oranges and pinks to a solemn dark blue. A voice soon joined the guitar, singing a song long lost after the apocalypse took most technology away from people.

    Will gently strummed the guitar strings with his fingers. He didn’t have a pick, although if he found one he would likely just lose it again. Besides, he didn’t need to play very loudly, just loudly enough for the sound to carry up to René, who was sitting a little ways away on top of a ruined wall. That man could climb up nearly anything as long as he could get a handhold and a foothold.

    “How would you feel,” Will sang, “If I told you I loved you?” It was a ballad, a rather slow and peaceful song to settle René’s mind and help him relax after a long day of scavenging. “It’s just something that I want to do…” René spared Will a glance. Will looked more like a dark blob with a mess of blond hair on top from his vantage point, but… He did enjoy the singing, to some degree. It spared him the usual twilight silence.

    “You’ll have to stop singing soon, you know,” he interrupted reluctantly. “They’ll hear you.”

    “I know…” Will sighed and set the guitar down. “Maybe I can hold a concert for them one day,” he joked. “One day when I find a new guitar pick, I’ll play the zombies a concert. Standing is free, seats are worth a bottle of water or a meal each.” René rolled his eyes as he climbed down the wall, trying not to chuckle too loudly to himself.

    “You can keep on dreaming,” he replied, although the usual venom wasn’t present in his voice. “Speaking of which… I believe it’s bedtime.” René dusted off his army jacket and took it off, setting it aside. He then prepared for bed, pulling off the blue and grey headband that Will had given him and tossing it into the same pile he had tossed his jacket into. “... At some point, we need to find a place to wash our clothes and take a proper shower.”

    “Body odor is the least of our problems,” Will pointed out, standing to put his guitar away. “I mean… What are the zombies going to do, smell us?” He realized what he said and quickly backpedaled. “I mean, they _do_ smell us, but in a different way, I think. They sense our human-ness, not really how much we smell… Although… Wait…” Stopping in his tracks, Will frowned, tapping his chin thoughtfully. René was glad he had managed to get Will’s brain going. Sometimes it took a little effort. Will snapped his fingers suddenly and dashed towards René. “René, you’re a genius!” he crowed, grabbing René by his shoulders and shaking him excitedly. René regretted trying to get Will’s brain in action. With the brain action came body action, and it was usually in the form of grabbing and shaking the nearest object. “Well… It sort of has to do with biology, you see? I learned this a few years ago, and you reminded me of it. If we could get some deodorant to mask our scent, or find some other way to mask our scent… We could get far closer to the zombies or sneak better! Maybe not hide from humans, but zombies might not be able to tell anymore! Since human sweat glands release a uniquely ‘human’ scent, if we were to somehow remove some of the scent or mask it with something, we could definitely lower their ability to find us! My God, René, you’re really too smart for your own good!” He hugged René tightly.

    “... Don’t get ahead of yourself,” René grumbled. “You haven’t taken that shower yet.” Will didn’t let go. He was too happy with his revelation. “... To be fair, though… I really just wanted to stop smelling like I took a trip through a gym locker and decided to roll around in everyone’s used gym shoes. I didn’t think of all that… Science.” René shrugged off Will’s arms and went to his bedroll.

    “C’mon love, don’t tell me you’re not excited too,” Will whined, following René. “It’s a new way for you to do your sneaky things! And a way for me to get away from zombies easier.” When René crawled into his bedroll, he scooted far enough in to give Will enough room to follow him. Naturally, Will did his best to squeeze in as well, and as usual, it was a bit of a tight fit.

    “You have your own bedroll, you know,” René said flatly, not turning around to look at Will. This was something of a nightly ritual now.

    “I know,” Will replied simply. He put his arms around René and settled against his back, pressing his face into René’s hair.

    “That’s dirty.”

    “I know.”

    “... Good night, Will…”

    “Good night, love.”


End file.
